Lock-hinge



(N0 Model N. S. CLEMENT.

'LOGK HINGE,

No. 494,549 Patented Apr. 4, 1893.

WITNESSES INVENTOH Q' W W ATTORNEYS.

Unirrnn STAT-Es PATENT Genres.

NATHAN S. CLEMENT, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOCK-HINGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.494,54=9, dated April 4, 1893.

Application filed June 18, 1892. Serial No. 437,160. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NATHAN S. CLEMENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Florence, Northampton, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hinges, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a hinge which will have a spring, frictional e11- gagement of its movable member with its fixed member, whereby a window-blind or other object carried by its movable member will be securely held against accidental movement, and which, at the same time, will be simple and inexpensive in construction,and capable of being quickly and easily placed in position for use.

To this end, my invention consists in the hingeconstructedandoperatingas hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a View of a portion of a window casing and its blind, having applied thereto a hinge embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hinge. Fig. 3 is a similar View of a slightly modified form of the hinge.

The hinge devised by me is composed of a pintle a, and a spring eye or loop b, which is adapted to embrace said pintle with a yield ing pressure. As herein shown the pintle a is provided with a base a containing screw holes, to enable it to be securely fastened to a window casing or other support, said base being offset from the pintle as shown in Fig. 2 to secure the necessary degree of separation between the pintle and its support. The eye or loop I), which is preferably composed of tempered spring-steel, is formed by bending a strip of sheet steel, at a point between its ends, to the shape required for the eye or loop,

the two ends of said strip being then laid together to form leaves 17', through which are made holes 6 to receive the screws by which this member of the hingeis secured to the window-blind or other object. The twoleaves b will be made straight, from the eye or loop b to their outer ends, or will be curved at some point in their length, as may be required to adapt them for the particular use to which the .hinge is put. For use on window-blinds, they will preferably be curved substantially as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, whereby they are adapted for use upon either blind without change and obviating the necessity of making them in the form of rights and lefts as is customary in blind hinges. I prefer to firmly connect the leaves b'together near the eye or loop I) by means of a rivet b and thereby preserve the spring action of said eye or loop under all circumstances. As shown in Fig. 2 the eye or loop b forms a substantially true circle except at the point where the leaves I) join the same, and to enable said eye to be readily applied to and withdrawn from the pintle a, the latter is slightly spotted or flattened at one side as shown. It results from this construction that said eye will embrace said pintle with a spring pressure, as the eye is revolved about the pintle as a center, except at the two points in the revolution of the eye when the spotted or flattened portion of the pintle is brought into substantial alignment with one of the leaves b'at the point where said leaf joins said eye, at which points the expansive pressure of the pintle upon the eye is relieved, and the latter is free to be withdrawn from the former. As the eye, in the ordinary use of the hinge, makes buta half-revolution about the pintle, such free point occurs but once in such movement, and the blind or other object is therefore held against accidental movement, by the elastic,

frictional engagement of the eye with the pintlethroughout its entire range of movement except at this one point. Window-blinds are thus held from being thrown open or shut by the wind, and the necessity for employing other fastening devices to hold them in either their open or closed positions is obviated.

The particular shape of the pintle and eye, in cross-section, can be variously modified without materially changing their joint action as just described, and within the spirit of my invention. For example, I have shown in Fig. 3 a form of the invention in which the pintle is substantially rectangular in cross-section,

with slightly rounded corners, and the eye is of a corresponding shape. The only difierence between the action of this form and that first described is, that in a single revolution of the eye about the pintle the eye would have four free points, at which it could be readily withdrawn from the plntle, instead of two but between such points the action of the two forms is identical. In the same manner, the pintle can be provided with a greater or less number of flattened sides without materially affecting the action thereof with the spring eye. For use on window-blinds, however, I prefer the form first described because of its capacity for securely holding the blind against movement at any point of its throw, except at the one free point the particular location of which can be varied as may be desired. It will be observed that, with this form of hinge,no trouble is encountered in hanging a window blind or in removing the same from a building, it being necessary merely to swing it to the proper angle to the building to move the eye I) to its free point, when the blind can be lowered upon the two pintles or raised therefrom with perfect ease. While it is thus rendered particularly applicable for use asa blind hinge, it will be obvious that the hinge devised by me is adapted to be used for any of the purposes for which hinges generally are used Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A hinge composed of two members, one of which consists of a pintle having one or more sides thereof spotted or flattened, and the other of which consists of an eye or loop of spring metal adapted to embrace said pintle with a yielding pressure and having means whereby it can be secured to a window-blind or other object, substantially as described.

NATHAN S. CLEMENT.

Witnesses:

, W. H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN. 

